To The Top: Inspirational Career Advice

Joshua Church and Rob Church are cousins who founed one of the leading cold plunges out of necessity because they needed a better recovery tool for cold water immersion. In this episode we discuss: -The origin story behind the cold plunge tub they developed -The benefits of cold water immersion  -The most important lessons fromt their parents, book recommendations, and more -- please email questio...

Nick Bailey serves as the President and CEO of RE/MAX. A licensed real estate broker for over 26 years, Nick has broad experience across multiple segments of the industry. He has been a Sr. Vice President at Market Leader, a Vice President at Trulia/Zillow and, just prior to rejoining RE/MAX, the President and CEO of Century 21. Originally from Wyoming, Nick bought his first investment property as...

Kevin Shen is a video expert and content creator who helps people build their studios for business and professional use. In Dream Studio Course he simplifies the principles and equipment required to level up your video, lighting, and studio setup. He shares quick tips around lighting, sound quality and webcam setups that will help you improve your video meetings immediately, along with other tips...

Jesse Tyler Ferguson is known for playing Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family. He's an award-winning actor who is also balancing parenthood with a successful career. In this interview we discuss: -What he learned about parenthood from his Modern Family experience -The real-life sacrifices he's had to make to lead a successful career and the importance of doing so -Why it's ok to be excel at a few...

Rishi Mandal is the co-founder and CEO of Future, a digital fitness platform that provides a virtual trainer who customizes your workouts and helps you accomplish your fitness goals through 1:1 coaching. Initially a trained astrophysicist with a degree from Stanford, Rishi sold his previous company, Sosh, to Postmates. We discuss Future, the aspects of building a solution to help improve human beh...

Chris Hufnagel is the Group President leading Wolverine Worldwide's active brands including Merrell, Saucony, Chaco, Kid's Group, and Global Licensing. Chris has previously worked in executive roles at companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, and Under Armor. He shares life and career lessons including: -The resilience he learned from working with the founder of Under Armour, Kevin Plank -Why he i...

Coach K is arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all-time. He has the most wins, won 5 national titles, and was named "Coach of the Year" 12x. He harnessed his leadership philosophy early on as as a point guard and coach at West Point. He also served as a captain in the US Army. Coach K has recently delivered a MasterClass on Values-Driven Leadership which we discuss including:  -One o...

Saucony is a household brand for athletes who love to run. It's also a 125 year-old brand with a rich heritage (and my favorite running shoe). Anne Cavassa, President of Saucony, shares her vision for the brand including life and career advice to live by including: -Important lessons she learned working with founds from brands like Tommy Bahama -How she learned empathy through her mother -How she...

Jim Irsay has been involved with the Indianapolis Colts for nearly his entire life. He took ownership of the franchise in 1997 after his father's passing. He's known as one of the most eccentric and outspoken owners, and notably open about his own life and struggles. Outside of football, he's invested over $100 million in historical artifacts and memorabilia in areas like music, pop culture, and A...

Latasha James is a marketing expert, digital creator, and coach. She's built an audience on YouTube with nearly 135K subscribers where she creates videos to help entrepreneurs to scale their business and leverage social media. She also hosts The Freelance Friday Podcast, facilitates a mastermind group (Freelance Friday Club), and has developed several online courses like the Social Media Managemen...

Eric Fleet is the founder of the premium and sustainable clothing brand named Threads 4 Thought. He grew up watching his father in the apparel business and after university he launched the sustainable clothing brand that also benefited from a stroke of luck. Their initial t-shirt designs were politically contreversial and struck a chord with celeberities like Gwen Stefani and Paris Hilton who were...

Ryan Hawk is the host of The Learning Leader Show. He has recorded more than 475 episodes over the past 7 years. Forbes called The Learning Leader Show ,  "the most dynamic leadership podcast around."  Inc Magazine said,  "it's one of the 5 podcasts to make you a smarter leader."  Apple named it an "all-time best seller" in 2020 and 2021. Ryan is the author of  Welcome to Management: How To Grow F...

Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna published a great sales book that can help sales and marketing teams address customer indecision. Combined with mining over 2 million recorded sales calls and studying human behavior, they provide prescriptive advice that you can complement whatever sales methodology you use today. Matthew Dixon was also author of popular book, The Challenger Sale. In this episode we...

Joe Moglia is the former CEO of TD Ameritrade and he spent nearly two decades at Merrill Lynch in leadership positions. He is also the former head football coach of a Division I school, Coastal Carolina. His coaching career spanned on and off from 1968 through 2018 and he earned a head coaching record of 56-22. Some of the topics we discuss: -How having children early in his life impacted his care...

Joey pointer, CEO of Fleet Feet, shares his story about how he grew up on a tobacco farm, landed at job at Ernst & Young in finance, and took a leap of faith to join a startup shoe retailer named Fleet Feet based in Sacramento which has grown to over 250+ stores. In this episode we discuss: -Lessons Joey learned from his parents growing up on a tobacco farm -How he navigated the leap of faith from...

Carla Harris is a force of nature who has advised and motivated companies around the world. She is a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley and she earned her economics degree and MBA from Harvard. In 2013, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women's Business Council. In addition to being a popular public speaker and gospel recording artist, Carla has authored severa...

Guy Raz is the greatest podcaster of our generation. 3.5 million people tune in to every episode of How I Built This where he interviews amazing founders to tell their story. He was widely known as the face of NPR and now is the founder and CEO of Built-It Productions. Guy also hosts Wisdom From the Top and The Great Creators. In this episode we discusss: -Advice he'd give someone early on in thei...

Jay Shetty is widely known for his inspiring videos which have been seen by over 7B people on YouTube. Jay shares the wisdom he learned living as a monk to help others find their purpose. He hosts the #1 health podcast called On Purpose and we unpack his best-selling book, Think Like a Monk.  In this episode we discuss: -The importance of appreciating the journey vs the reward -Why humility is the...

Dr. Michael Breus is the leading authority in the field of sleep. He is a clinical psychologist with more than two decades of experience in his field. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In 2021, Reader's Digest  named him the best sleep specialist in the state of California. He's also published four books on the subject...

Liz Fosslien's illustrations have made a significant impact on how many view emotions at work and in life. Her superpower is being able to illustrate these emotions in what appears to be a simple drawing which affects millions of people. She's the best-selling author of No Hard Feelings which was about emotions at work, and her new book is titled Big Feelings which touches on both work and life. H...

In 1990 when NASA launched the $1.5 billion Hubble Telescope into space, they did so with a faulty mirror that took blurry images. They tasked Story Musgrave to lead a team to fix it. What made him the best person to lead the mission? Because Story was a lifelong learner and his range of experience allowed him to view problems through a unique lens. Story was an electrician, mathemetician, compute...

An enrolled member of the Ottawa Tribe of Michigan, D.J. was born to impoverished teenage parents. He went from sleeping in a drawer for the first three months of his life to becoming a proud graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a decorated Air Force captain, a renowned member of the tribal community, a bestselling author, and a revered motivational speaker. A true warrior, who is successful in...

Andy Dunn co-founded the e-commerce driven menswear brand Bonobos in 2007 and served as CEO through its 2017 acquisition by Walmart. While business was booming, Andy struggled to manage his mental illness until he hit rock bottom which resulted in a night of mayhem. Andy opens up in his riveting memoir, Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind , which intersects entrepreneurship and menta...

Ryan Hawk is a leadership advisor, author, and podcast host of The Learning Leader Show where he's interviewed 500 of the world's greatest leaders.  His second book, The Pursuit of Excellence, distills the behaviors he's learned from his guests and life experiences in order to live an excellent life. In this episode we discuss: -How he wants his daughters to remember what kind of father he was -Wh...

Troy Sicotte is the President of Mountain Hardwear, a premium apparel and equipment brand designed for mountaineering, camping, and outdoor activities. They are owned by Columbia Sportswear. Troy's career has interesected with music, automotive, and retail industries. He shares stories from touring with his band and how that led him through his journey at companies like Audi and The North Face. Tr...